Franco Alessandrini
Pirogue on the Mississippi, 1967
Watercolor on Paper
31″ x 39″ w/ frame
$3800
(Illustrated in book, included)
SORRY FOR THE REFLECTIONS FROM THE GLASS OVER THIS WATERCOLOR!
Full disclosure: I happily paid $3,350 ($2,750 plus 22% buyer’s fee) for this rare work by Franco Allesandrini at auction, so my markup is modest. (Please see my auction record and receipt attached; the auction estimate was $3,000 to $5,000, so I judged it a very good deal at $2,750 plus fee). Franco Alessandrini is a world-renowned sculptor and painter who has worked around the globe, but has spent substantial time in New Orleans. His locations in AskArt are listed as “Italy, Louisiana”. Several of his large statues grace public spaces in the city. Though he is a prolific painter (see the big, thick, generously illustrated book that comes with this), his works just don’t show up at auction. And vanishingly few are of Louisiana subject. This one couldn’t be more classic Louisiana: a pirogue with a Mississippi river shack. He apparently liked it well enough that it is illustrated in the book, as shown in one of the photos.
Here is a link to a website about Allesandrini. An excerpt from the website: